I Love How the Blight Brings People Together
by Ashlahrs
Summary: A story about Alistair and Morrigan getting past their difference and possibly becoming more. This is my first story so any critiques are welcomed! :)


It had been a week since the Blight had taken over Ostagar leaving Alistair as the last Grey Warden left in Ferelden. Always happy and jovial, the lone Templar was left standing alone in the camp site he and Morrigan had set up in the middle of the Korcari Wilds. He knew he had to do something, he was the only one left, but he had no idea how he was going to be able to manage with nothing left. He had his sword, his shield, and his Mabari hound. What else did he have? He had treaties that probably didn't mean anything anymore, and he had the cynical daughter of a crazy, old hag of a witch. Alistair was _really_ set, wasn't he? There had to be a solution to stop the Blight. Duncan had told him stories before, stories of great battles in which the Grey Wardens took down the Archdemon, but Alistair had no idea how to do that. "Maybe I should have just let them turn me into a frog," he sighed to himself as he looked out at the sun dipping under the treeline. "How'd you like that, buddy? I could be a frog and you could just carry me everywhere!" He was talking to his Mabari now, the only friend he had left. "Imagine that... The last Grey Warden in the form of a frog riding his trusty Mabari steed into battle to hop along and _ribbit _the Archdemon away!" The Mabari, Barkspawn, looked up at Alistair curiously as he talked and even barked a couple of times like he was laughing. _At least someone thinks I'm funny,_ Alistair thought to himself with a thoughtful smile. However, that was quickly cut short when he jumped to hear,

"I see you're still conversing with those of a more intelligent species," from behind him. Morrigan emerged from the forest dressed in her dark purple robes as usual. In her arms was various firewood and wood he assumed was to put the pot on tomorrow morning. "Filthy mongrel isn't allowed by the fire when we eat, you know. I'd rather not deal with his begging."

"Hey! At least people like me... Well, they used to like me. Back when there were people to like me, people liked me! Least the dog likes me."

"The dog likes anyone who will feed it a scrap of rotten meat."

Alistair rolled his eyes but didn't say anything as he moved to grab the logs from her and start up a fire. He was tired from traveling and didn't need to be witty. With a sigh, Alistair crouched down and worked on lighting the fire with his tinder. It was humble tasks like this, things that people made look easy but that were actually a lot more difficult than were ever given credit. Apparently he was taking too long, though, because Morrigan gave an impatient sigh and pushed him back off his haunches and onto his ass. "Don't let the witch who can cast a bunch of fire from her staff light the fire or anything," Morrigan said, shooting fire from her staff.

"I still expect to be turned into a frog when my back is turned. Do you really expect me to be able to remember everything that the Witch of the Wilds can do?"

"That happens to be my mother you're referring to."

_Don't __I know it,_ he thought with a nod, falling silent then. They should be making it to Lothering tomorrow, but that was only if Morrigan wasn't leading him astray. It wasn't like he could complain because he had a lot of options. He was putting all of his hope into this one she-devil of a woman, and he had to live with that now. It wasn't very often that Alistair thought negatively about a situation, but could anyone blame him given the fact he had very little hope? Looking down at Barkspawn with a small smile, Alistair reached down and scratched behind his ears. He needed to buck up soon, though, because if he couldn't at least battle Morrigan with wit then he couldn't battle Morrigan at all. It wasn't very often that his stupid, funny comments were challenged, but now that he had someone to combat him he needed to step himself up. Honestly Alistair was enjoying the company even if he didn't expressly like who it was with. It made him feel a little less alone to have her there. When he lost the Wardens, it was like he'd lost his family.

Morrigan must have seen the longing look on his face because she scoffed a little bit almost to herself. "Emotions are useless and should be left to the Chantry." Her tone was a little softer and not quite as biting as it usually was. 

"Was that an effort to make me feel better?" Alistair asked after a moment, amusement entering his voice as he looked up at her from across the fire. He had no clue why she'd do such a thing considering they were always at odds with each other. It was probably because traveling with someone who was down. Besides, someone needed to be happy-go-lucky and it most definitely wouldn't be her.

"W-what, no! Your being miserable is just distracting to our mission to save the world, so you need to stop it is all. You're not helping our survival by being distracted," she replied immediately. It made Alistair raise an eyebrow at her, but she silenced him quickly with the comment, "Just because I haven't turned you into a frog yet doesn't mean that I won't or can't."

It was enough to get him to drop the subject, but he couldn't shake the fact she'd tried to make him feel better. For the rest of the night, Alistair stayed by the fire looking down into the embers. Sometimes if he wasn't paying attention for very long he could swear he saw the Archdemon or Duncan's face in the fire, but he knew that was stupid even for him. He was mourning the loss of his only true father figure after Isolde gave him up to the Chantry. Oh, Maker, the Chantry. The Circle wasn't going to like him for being a Templar, well, former Templar, and he definitely wouldn't be getting the help from the Templars if his sole companion was an apostate. _So it looks like you're going to follow through with the treaties after all. Nice of you to come to a decision._ "Maker help me," he sighed as he got up and kicked the dust over the fire. "I'll take first watch."

Honestly he didn't want to sleep. With the coming of a new Blight, Alistair was sure that his sleep would be plagued with nightmares again. He got used to them a long time ago, but he wanted to avoid them as long as possible. Morrigan got up and gave a nod before ducking into the tent that she'd set up for herself. Alistair always liked the stars, so he didn't bother to set up the tent even though he had one. The darkness was a comforting blanket at this late in the night. He could see why people liked to live out in the country more than in big cities. The stars in the sky had him smiling, too, because he could remember the days that he and Duncan would look up at them when they were traveling together. It was a nice memory, one that almost made him tear up but he didn't have that opportunity because Barkspawn jumped up from where he'd been lying down and started barking at the darkness.

Alistair's hand reached towards his sword as his other one drew his shield, unsure as to what could possibly be in the dark that would bother at this time of night. That was why there was watch, though. Until they found a safe place to rest for sure while they traveled a watch schedule would be stuck to. "Get Morrigan!" he told the dog, nodding towards the tent. If it was something bad, he wanted the help of the witch. Barkspawn ran off into the tent and started to bark at Morrigan's sleeping form, leaving Alistair to deal with the forms he saw slowly emerging from the trees. Why were Darkspawn just out and about in the forest? It wasn't like it mattered any. They were enemies and needed to be taken out.

He charged a Hurlock that was running towards him as well and blocked the sword strike with his shield. _Maker, they're a lot stronger than I thought,_ was his only remark as he held the sword at bay repeatedly with his shield. Alistair wasn't an outstandingly tall guy. He was about five foot eleven and not overly muscular, but this Hurlock towered over him easily at six and a half feet. And it didn't help that they were **so** ugly. He waited for his chance to strike before swinging his sword and clashing it against that of the Hurlock, driving it straight through the creature's weak armor. He barely had time to pull it back out of the chainmail when there was another one that appeared right next to the one he'd just defeated. The overhead blow of the other sword drove Alistair to his knees with his shield raised over his head to defend himself. He waited only a few seconds before he pushed back and rose with all his weight off his knees and back onto his feet, swinging the sword and slicing the Hurlock's head clean off, splattering his face with its blood. _That's pleasant._

Meanwhile, Morrigan and Barkspawn were taking care of the Genlock's that tried to sneak behind the small camp and stand at a distance with their arrows. Most of the time Morrigan just froze them, but Alistair glanced behind him to see her change herself into a giant spider, the sight of which almost had him temporarily turn into a woman and scream. That was easily the scariest thing he'd ever seen and suddenly being turned into a frog wasn't so bad. He had a huge appreciation for frogs now. Anything that would keep him on Morrigan's good side and make him not have to see that ever ever ever again. It was officially the last thing he ever wanted to see.

Unfortunately for him, that proved to be just the distraction a lone Genlock was looking for. It was hiding among the trees where Morrigan couldn't see it, Barkspawn didn't detect it, and Alistair was occupied. However, as the last Hurlock fell, Alistair felt something pierce his back and turned his head to look behind him to see an arrow sticking out his back. This wouldn't have been such a big deal, but unbeknownst to Alistair the arrow was poisoned. It didn't take affect right away, however, so Alistair was able to pick himself up, clean his sword in the grass, and take gold from the Hurlock corpses before he felt any worse for wear outside of the normal pain that came with being hit with an arrow. Once done looting, Alistair strutted back over to where Morrigan was back in her normal form. "Well... This was an eventful evening! What a perfect way to fall asleep, don't you think? I do believe we've been thoroughly welcomed into the forest. Quite a nice welcoming party if you ask me."

Morrigan wasn't exactly having any of his now jovial self, however, and instead raised her brows to look at him like he was crazy. "You do realize you have an _arrow _sticking out of your back, correct?" she asked, walking right over to him and yanking the arrow straight out. The pain of it made Alistair cry out to the Maker, but he didn't fall or even falter as he looked at Morrigan holding the arrow. "Something is off about this arrow..." she trailed off, examining it but unable to find anything.

"Something is off about it because it managed to make a dent in my armor! I won't get taken down so easily for I am a Grey Warde-" he cut himself off as he fell to the ground, suddenly feeling incredibly nauseated. He didn't know what happened to him, but now he could barely pull himself to his feet. "Okay... An arrow, no problem. A stomach bug, so deadly..." He rolled over onto his side and threw up whatever food he'd eaten in the last day of travels. His insides felt like they were on fire, he suddenly felt feverish, and there was pain coursing throughout his entire body. _Look at you now. Everyone goes out in a glorious battle and you get taken out by an arrow to the back. Oh the stories that'll be told._ Alistair didn't have much time to think anything else before he passed out from the pain, praying to the Maker that if he was going to die that he be embraced by Duncan and his half-brother.


End file.
